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SEBI cracks down on finfluencers, ensures integrity in financial advice

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Mumbai:  The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has taken a decisive step by banning regulated entities from associating with unregistered influencers. This crackdown targets anyone who provides financial advice or makes claims about securities without Sebi’s registration.

In today’s accessible digital world, to regulate the affairs in the financial sector finfluencers use platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and several mobile and gaming apps to spread their financial advisers, and investment ideas and even promote specific stocks or shares of certain companies for their (finfluencers’s) marketing and revenue point of view. These affect stock prices and investment choices of people by finfluencers but the problem is that often their data is basically unreliable information and actions are unaccountable because they are not licensed and not qualified.

Since the finfluencers are not licensed and not qualified, they mislead investors and put their money at risk, and involve themselves in stock manipulation by elevating prices of certain stocks by convincing their followers to buy them which increase the value of those stocks and in a ripple effects decrease the prices of stocks of rival companies thus degrading the integrity the status of the Indian financial markets.

Previously, The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has developed criteria for influencers who might affect people’s purchasing and investing decisions. They further said that Influencers must offer clear and visible disclaimers in their text or video material if they accept any kind of remuneration from a business or product they recommend.

Indiantelevision.com reached out to industry experts for their opinion regarding this massive step.

Whoppl founder Ramya Ramachandran stated, “For any industry, giving half-baked information or having limited knowledge and claiming expertise is always incorrect because people trust that the information provided is well-researched and accurate. Influencers giving advice on health, finance, or food without the right qualifications is especially problematic. While some influencers take extra steps to thoroughly understand the brands they promote, many do not. This issue extends beyond influencers to celebrities who often endorse products they do not use. Media outlets also sometimes fail to perform proper due diligence.

It is particularly risky when influencers give advice without due diligence, as their followers might make significant financial or health decisions based on this advice. This is why there’s a call for better monitoring and perhaps certification to ensure influencers are qualified to give such advice. Product reviews and testimonials should be clearly marked as personal opinions of the individual influencer.

To ensure transparency and quality, there should be protocols requiring only qualified individuals to discuss certain topics. This should apply across industries, including media houses, celebrity endorsements, and influencers. The entire ecosystem needs to be revised to maintain a high level of transparency and clarity.”

According to Media Care Brand Solutions director Yasin Hamidani, “The SEBI crackdown on finfluencers, prohibiting SEBI-registered entities from associating with unregistered financial influencers, is a necessary and timely measure aimed at safeguarding market integrity and protecting retail investors.

The rise of social media has given birth to a new breed of influencers who provide financial advice and investment recommendations. While many finfluencers are knowledgeable and ethical, the industry is also rife with misinformation and unqualified advice, leading to potential financial losses for uninformed investors. SEBI’s stringent regulations are designed to curb these risks by ensuring that only qualified and registered individuals provide financial guidance.

This crackdown will have significant implications for the finfluencer community. Unregistered finfluencers will face challenges in monetizing their content through partnerships with SEBI-registered entities. This move may lead to a decline in the number of finfluencers who lack formal qualifications or registration, thereby raising the overall quality and reliability of financial advice available to the public.”

He sheds some light for the retail investors, “For retail investors, this regulation brings a layer of protection. They can now be more confident that the advice they receive from SEBI-registered entities is credible and compliant with regulatory standards. This will help in making more informed investment decisions and reducing the risk of financial missteps caused by unverified recommendations.”

He further continues, “Finfluencers need to adapt to this new regulatory landscape by seeking SEBI registration, if eligible, to continue offering investment advice. Alternatively, they can pivot their content strategy towards financial education, general market analysis, and personal finance tips that do not constitute direct financial advice.

SEBI’s crackdown is a step in the right direction for ensuring the integrity of financial markets and protecting retail investors. While it imposes new challenges on the finfluencer community, it ultimately promotes a more trustworthy and reliable financial advisory ecosystem. Finfluencers who adapt to these regulations will likely emerge stronger and more credible, benefiting both themselves and their audience.”

Pulp Strategy founder & MD Ambika Sharma highlighted, “The recent semi-crackdown on finance influencers is a commendable move towards protecting consumer rights and ensuring a responsible digital ecosystem. In an era where digital platforms wield immense influence over financial decisions, it is imperative to address the misinformation that can mislead consumers and cause significant financial harm.

The finance influencer space has grown exponentially, with many individuals gaining substantial followings by sharing financial advice and investment tips. While some influencers provide valuable insights, there is a growing concern about the accuracy and reliability of the information being disseminated. The allure of quick profits and sensationalist claims often overshadows sound financial advice, leading many unsuspecting consumers astray.”

From the brands and agencies perspective, she said, “Agencies and brands must exercise due diligence in selecting influencers to partner with, ensuring that these individuals have the requisite expertise and credibility. The onus is on agencies to conduct thorough background checks and verify qualifications before endorsements. Brands must prioritize consumer safety over promotional gains by aligning with influencers who uphold ethical standards and provide truthful information.”

She continues further, “Social media platforms and digital content platforms must implement stringent policies to monitor and regulate content shared by finance influencers. This includes flagging and removing misleading information, promoting content from verified sources, and providing tools for consumers to report suspicious or false information. Platforms can play a crucial role in protecting consumers from financial misinformation.

Government intervention is crucial. Regulatory bodies must establish clear guidelines and regulations governing the dissemination of financial information by influencers, including defining qualifications, setting standards for disclosure of affiliations and sponsorships, and enforcing penalties for non-compliance.

Education also plays a vital role in empowering consumers to navigate the digital landscape safely. Financial literacy programs should be promoted to enhance the public’s understanding of basic financial principles and the potential risks associated with following unverified financial advice.

In conclusion, the semi-crackdown on finance influencers is a positive step towards protecting consumer rights and ensuring a safe digital ecosystem. By working together to uphold ethical standards, promote accurate information, and educate consumers, we can create a digital environment that fosters trust, transparency, and financial well-being.”

 

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Netflix celebrates a decade in India with Shah Rukh Khan-narrated tribute film

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MUMBAI: Netflix is celebrating ten years in India with a slick anniversary film voiced by Shah Rukh Khan, a nostalgic sprint through a decade that rewired how the country watches stories. The campaign doubles as both tribute and reminder: streaming did not just enter Indian homes, it quietly rearranged them.

Roll back to 2016 and television still dictated schedules. Viewers waited weeks, sometimes months, for favourite films to appear on prime time. Family-friendly filters narrowed options further, and piracy often filled the gaps. Then Netflix arrived, softly but decisively, carrying a catalogue of international titles rarely seen in Indian theatres and placing them a click away. Old blockbusters and new releases suddenly coexisted on the same digital shelf.

The platform’s real inflection point came in 2018 with Sacred Games, a breakout series that refused to dilute India’s grit for global comfort. Audiences embraced its unvarnished tone, signalling readiness for stories that did not need box-office validation or censorship compromises. What followed was a steady procession of relatable narratives. Competitive-exam anxiety fuelled Kota Factory. College relationships unfolded in Mismatched. Everyday pressures, not grand spectacle, proved bankable.

Language barriers thinned as foreign series arrived with Hindi, Tamil and Telugu dubbing, expanding viewership beyond urban English-speaking pockets. Marketing mirrored the shift. For global releases such as Squid Game, Netflix leaned on regional creators and influencers to localise buzz and make international content feel native.

The library widened beyond fiction. Documentaries stepped out of festival circuits into living rooms. Stand-up comedians found scale. Established filmmakers, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali with Heeramandi, embraced the platform’s long-form canvas. Subscriber numbers swelled to 12.37 million in India, according to Demandsage, and behaviour followed suit. Late-night binges became routine. Friday release rituals loosened. Watch parties turned solitary screens into social events.

Economics demanded adjustment. Early subscription pricing carried a premium aura that deterred many households. Over time, Netflix recalibrated plans to align with Indian spending sensibilities, conceding that accessibility is as critical as content. To extend momentum around marquee titles, the platform also experimented with split-season releases, stretching anticipation and watch time.

The anniversary film, narrated by Shah Rukh Khan, captures the linguistic shift that mirrors the cultural one: from “Netflix pe kya dekha?” to “Netflix pe kya dekhein?” The question moved from recounting the past to planning the next binge. In ten years, Netflix morphed from foreign entrant to familiar fixture, exporting Indian stories abroad while importing global ones home. The remote no longer waits; it chooses, clicks and moves on. In the streaming age, patience is out, playlists are in, and the next episode is always one tap away.

 

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Tulasi Mohan Padavala elevated to Associate Director at Blinkit

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Gurugram: Blinkit has elevated Tulasi Mohan Padavala to associate director, capping a three-year climb inside the quick-commerce firm and signalling confidence in an executive steeped in ecommerce, category management and on-ground sales execution.

Padavala shared the update publicly, saying he was “happy to share” the promotion, a succinct announcement that nevertheless marks a notable step up within one of India’s fastest-moving delivery platforms. The new role follows nearly three years at Blinkit, where he most recently served as senior category manager from February 2023 to January 2026, focusing on strategic sourcing and assortment planning.

The promotion places Padavala in Blinkit’s mid-to-senior leadership tier at a time when the company continues to expand its rapid-delivery footprint and sharpen category economics. His brief tenure as associate director began in January 2026, with responsibilities expected to span category growth, supplier strategy and cross-functional execution.

Before Blinkit, Padavala spent a short but intensive stint as global ecommerce manager at Wholsum Foods, the parent of Slurrp Farm and Millé, between November 2022 and February 2023. There he worked on digital marketplace expansion and online retail operations, adding a direct-to-consumer and international ecommerce layer to his résumé.

A longer stretch at Amazon shaped much of his cross-border commerce experience. As business development manager for Amazon’s India Global Selling programme from February 2021 to October 2022, Padavala helped Indian D2C brands enter the North American market. His remit ranged from seller recruitment and category revenue management to coordination with industry bodies, regulators and logistics partners. Key outcomes included launching more than 50 D2C consumable brands in the United States, driving a cumulative gross merchandise sales figure of $1m in FY21-22, tripling sales for participating brands during Prime Day through marketing and visibility levers, growing the monthly recurring revenue of more than 10 newly launched sellers from zero to an average $20,000 each, and negotiating ecommerce partnerships that reduced initial launch costs by 20 per cent.

Padavala’s earlier career was forged in the field rather than the dashboard. At Coffee Day Group, he spent close to five years across multiple sales leadership roles. As sales manager in the Greater Delhi Area from July 2019 to January 2021, he led vending-machine and consumables sales for small and medium enterprises with a team of more than 15 assistant and territory sales managers, managed over 2,000 clients, drove upselling and cross-selling, maintained channel partnerships and ensured timely collections. Prior to that, he served as area sales manager in Delhi between May 2018 and June 2019, handling south and east Delhi markets, and earlier in Hyderabad from April 2016 to May 2018, where he led Andhra Pradesh sales for the vending division, supervised service and logistics functions and managed a base of more than 600 machines with a four-member team.

His professional arc began with internships that combined analytics and process improvement. At Boehringer Ingelheim in 2015, Padavala analysed the impact of brand extension on the drug Pradaxa, identified key performance indicators through market research and assessed sales forecasts, recommendations that drew positive responses in pilot studies. Earlier, at Genpact in 2014, he automated manual sales-order backlog reporting using VBA and Excel, increasing efficiency by 800 per cent, and worked on benchmarking metrics within supply-chain planning processes.

From automating spreadsheets to scaling cross-border ecommerce and now steering quick-commerce categories, Padavala’s trajectory tracks the evolution of India’s retail economy itself. Blinkit’s bet is clear: blend data, discipline and delivery speed. The promotion formalises what his career already suggests. In the race for instant commerce, experience that moves from warehouse floors to global dashboards is no longer optional. It is the engine.

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e-commerce

Bharatpe plays a super over as Rohit Sharma fronts T20 push

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MUMBAI: When the stakes rise and seconds matter, even payments need a match-winning finish. That’s the cue for Bharatpe, which has rolled out Super Over, a nationwide campaign led by Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma, timed neatly ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

The campaign draws a straight line between the pulse of cricket and the pace of everyday digital payments. A new brand film taps into India’s emotional bond with the game, while positioning UPI as the quiet hero that keeps daily transactions ticking along at match speed.

As part of Super Over, users making payments via Bharatpe UPI can bag daily rewards ranging from match tickets and signed merchandise to a chance to watch a T20 World Cup fixture alongside Rohit Sharma himself. Both consumers and merchants are also assured Zillion Coins on every eligible transaction, adding a little extra sparkle to routine payments.

Behind the scenes, Bharatpe is also batting for safety. The platform is backed by Bharatpe Shield, a fraud-protection layer designed to offer enhanced security, comprehensive coverage and dedicated support aimed at helping users transact with greater confidence as digital payments scale up.

Announcing the campaign, Bharatpe head of marketing Shilpi Kapoor said Super Over mirrors the aspirations of everyday Indians, combining speed, security and instant rewards to make UPI transactions feel both reliable and rewarding.

The campaign will play out across digital platforms, social media and on-ground activations nationwide, staying live through the T20 World Cup season proof that in cricket, as in payments, timing is everything.

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